“Legitimate rape” became a Twitter trending topic in the U.S. this afternoon after liberal blog Talking Points Memo posted a video of Rep. Todd Akin claiming that victims of “legitimate rape” are unlikely to become pregnant.

Rep. Akin is the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Missouri. A recent poll by SurveyUSA showed Akin 11 points ahead of his opponent, incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill.

“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” Akin said to KTVI-TV in an interview posted this morning.

Twitchy was unable to find a single Twitter user who spoke out in defense of Rep. Akin’s comment.

Exit question: How long will it take before Akin issues a statement saying he misspoke?

Update: One Republican is already talking about a “Torricelli situation” — a reference to former New Jersey Democrat Sen. Robert Torricelli, who withdrew from his Senate re-election race after it was disclosed that he had received illegal contributions to his campaign. Torricelli was replaced by former U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg, who went on to win the election.